ABOUT TO WED

Marriage, when you hit your late twenties that’s all people seem to care about.

“when is the wedding?”

The mantra everyone had been singing to her

Honestly, she didn’t think  marriage suited her or at least the life she had always dreamed off.

Now it was expected for her to marry. Bringing her boyfriend to the wedding of a cousin in June was the worst thing she had done all year. He was a wonderful man to be honest. He had never  been married, virgin and willing to compromise for her. She had been given books on marriage; How to become a wife, Men are from Mars Women are from Venus, When to marry, Model Marriage, Before you say I do and a few titles she could not remember. Truth was all those books had formed a nice library waiting to be opened. She even gifted some to her friends who talked so eagerly about marriage.

Herself? She never read any.

She loved to read. She had Chimamanda, Akosua yeboah, Aisha a host of African writers she had read over and over again. she just wasn’t into this whole marriage thing.

 

“B33ma na ohw3 obaa” her mother always said and would go on and on about how good of a husband her father was. A working woman is not dignified enough. A woman needs a man.

She tapped her iPhone x screen to watch a movie on her irokotv app. She would probably watch Lasgidi Police Corps. She remembers she wanted to go and see Potato potahto at Siverbird cinemas over the weekend.

Cinemas.

A place of pleasant and painful memories. She had recently broken up with prince charming because she was bored. That wasn’t what she said to him.  He was rich. He was famous. The son of a man who could call angels from heaven and they would run errands for him. The name Yeboah-Boateng opened doors. He loved to use it. The conglomerate they owned had half the economy eating from their palm. He was such a mummy’s boy. He consulted with her on every decision. he was still her baby. she envied how whatever his mother said was the action he took.  It was irritating. Maybe because she didn’t really have her own parents support on a lot of things.  She had fought to make it this far.

On several occasions, he would buy out the entire cinema just for the 2 of them. Big ass screens. she loved that.  Watching movies all night. It was their personal cocoon. Their dating was public knowledge in the upper echelon none of those social media declarations. It was a great 4 years of love and travels. All over Ghana in the best of hotels within the first year then Greece, Paris, Alaska. Disney world was earlier this year. Then work got really busy and it suddenly felt empty.

She wondered how he was doing. It seemed silly to think she had let go. That was 2 days ago. Still no calls, texts or family calling her to ask why.  She had said work stress wasn’t giving her enough time to attend to him and she would rather not waste his time.   Was forgetting her that easy?

She had recently been promoted to branch manager and that was the best news for her all year. She deserved it. God had made a way. She could now afford to move out of her parents’ house. She just hadn’t figured out how to break it to her parents. work demand was high and waking up early to avoid traffic was getting stressful. She had an agent looking for a place that suited her best maybe once she settled on a place she could tell them.

 

“Obaa ts3 mi” she comforted herself.

She really hoped he would call.

 

She woke up on Saturday to the cold winds of harmattan. Her local winter. She got off the bed still sleepy to turn of the fan and close the windows. She walked to her closet to pick up a cardigan she had assigned to cold nights. The one she got on the trip to Alaska in winter.it still smelled of him.

Focus she told herself as she sat at the edge of her bed. She was up. Sleep had betrayed her. She might as well finish the work she hadn’t completed during the week. Promotions are desirable status not the actual work load they come with. She got up and walked to her study table. Her phone screen was blinking. Her sister in the UK was calling.

At this time on a Saturday, No please she tossed her phone on to her bed. She didn’t want any crap story  besides she had her own issues.  The blinking wouldn’t stop. What was so urgent?

“BUSY”

She sent her a text instead just to avoid the whole, WhatsApp notifications drama.

When she woke up again it was noon. She unlocked the door to her room to find breakfast. As she stepped out, her face met her dad’s. She saw an expression she hadn’t seen in a while. A mixture of disappointment and anger.  She went back into her room. She might as well order in from Atomic waakye.

She picked up her phone to 500 new messages and counting as more were coming in. Had rapture occurred? What had she missed?

Dear God have mercy she prayed as she opened her WhatsApp.

Whose would she read first?

Congrats kept popping up. Had her promotion become such a big deal it was two months old.

Old news

So she called her elder sister finally.

“auntie why?” was the greeting she received

“huh”
“how do you embarrass us like that?” “are you pregnant?”

“no”

“then how are you getting married next week and your own family has no idea”

“what” she screamed “we broke up a week ago, we haven’t spoken since and he has not even proposed.” She defended herself

It was in the news. The entire nation knew.

She now understood his silence. He was going to have his way and Mama bear was making sure of it.